I just found your website/blog and spent some time with it. Side note : Sad to see that the bourrée video you picked showed quite poor dancing ! There are several great bourrées videos available here are some examples if you are interested : The best book I know about our dance history is “Danse traditionnelle et anciens milieux ruraux français”, written by Jean-Michel Guilcher (he spent his whole life investigating this, and everything he has written is worth reading his son Yvon wrote interesting stuff too). So we may say partner dances became dominant in our culture… but I wouldn’t say they ever were dominant in the folk culture (especially in Brittany, Gascony, Basque country, Provence…). Well, in my country at least (France), until quite recently (I mean, until XXth century), that was not the case – and soon after the partner dances arrived, the folk cultures disappeared altogether anyway. I read your post about the differences between South-East and North-West European folk dances, and have been quite surprised to see you consider North-West folk cultures as having “mostly partner dances”. Although I love folk dancing, I know very few about the countries you focus on, so I expect many great discoveries. Hello, I just discovered this place and it looks like I will spend some time exploring all those posts full of interesting information. Contact the Society via email at: Society also has, thanks to a huge effort by Dick Oakes, a website chock-a-block with information. Back issues (31 and counting!) are available to members. *The Problem Solvers are issued yearly with a membership in the Society. I look forward to your questions or comments (below or email me at However I will not reply unless you leave your name and email address. And to Susanjane Hamilton, my dance partner of 35+ years, for inspiration, support, valuable advice, and for indulging my eccentricities. Also to Dale Adamson, she of the boundless energy, Lyrids festival, and gazillion YouTube posts, for suggesting I do this website. The encouragement is his, the opinions and errors are mine. He is the driving force behind the Folk Dance Problem Solvers* so often referred to in my postings. I dedicate this website to Ron Houston, of the Society of Folk Dance Historians,įor his invaluable information, enthusiasm, and support throughout the years. You won’t miss updates!Įnter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Simply fill in your email address below and click the “follow” button. If you would like email notifications whenever new material is posted, become a follower. New material will be added frequently, and existing material is often updated. Often I find that we and they dance differently, so I post You Tubes of what they are up to.īrowse the INDEX for subjects that interest you. At first glance one would think that Greece, Romania, Armenia and Syria wouldn’t have much in common, but in fact they share millennia of common cultural influences.Īs far as the dances themselves are concerned my main interest is, what’s going on today in the place of origin? I watch You Tubes of weddings, festivals, etc to see what the “natives” are dancing, and if they are the same dances we “outsiders” were taught that they danced. I enjoy researching the milieu that produced the dances of Southeast Europe, Anatolia, and the Levant, and I like sharing what I’ve discovered. Select it, type in a word or two, and the Engine will show you articles containing your words. The icon is the magnifying glass, upper right corner. I’m here to provide context for your dances. What does it mean to be Macedonian, and how does that differ from being Greek, Bulgarian, Roma, or Serbian? How did a particular dance come about – is it a “village” dance, or someone’s creation? What is the relationship between the dance and its music – which is accompanying which? What was the occasion for this dance – a wedding, religious festival, pagan rite, performance? What do the costumes tell about the person wearing them? Have the dances changed over time and location? How did peasants celebrate the agricultural cycle, and do they still? As there are nearly 600 separate postings (and growing), I have recently added a new Search Engine. I suspect you’re already enjoying this wonderful activity.
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